


Physics

by buckys_bitch



Series: Sciences [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Billy has feelings, Bisexual Steve Harrington, California, Emotionally Repressed, F/F, F/M, Gay Billy Hargrove, M/M, Steve is a mom but makes dad jokes, please forgive me i live right next to the atlantic and have never been to LA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-08-19 12:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckys_bitch/pseuds/buckys_bitch
Summary: There’s a struggle in staying together.(Best read after Chemistry).





	1. Chapter One: MADMAX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> valence bond theory.

California is as beautiful in the fall as in the Summer. Billy’s birthday was in November, but that didn’t stop him and Steve from driving from Hawkins to Los Angeles. It was Steve’s present to his boyfriend; an all-expenses paid and to-be-paid trip to his hometown for a little visit. 

They were driving in Billy’s Camaro with the windows down, their hair flowing in the wind. Billy’s curls were a little longer than they had been earlier in February, but not too much. They barely reached his neck, but he thought he looked better with a little length. Steve, ever the complimentary opposite, had trimmed his hair to be more close cropped. He didn’t enjoy it too short, but he knew that it would grow back in a week or two. 

Billy was absolutely glowing and had been ever since they crossed the state line into California. He had been smiling and holding Steve’s hand, admiring his boyfriend as he drove them down Interstate 40. Billy took in Steve’s aviator sunglasses, his skinny jeans, and the Huntington Beach shirt he had stolen from Billy’s wardrobe. 

Billy couldn’t say much, as he was sitting criss-crossed in the passenger seat also wearing skinny jeans, a blue and white striped shirt with Steve’s Chicago Bulls sweatshirt. It smelled like his cologne and hair product which made Billy happy. 

When they pulled up to their AirBnB in Huntington Beach, Billy stepped out, stretched, and looked around in awe. The neighborhood he had grown up in looked exactly the same as it had when he was young. It looked the same when he met Max, when he had his first kiss, and when he was told they were uprooting to Hawkins. 

“Wanna unpack and head to the beach?” Steve asked across the top of the car. All Billy could do was nod. He was still in awe. 

They both grabbed their own bags, two a piece, and headed inside. The house was large, and mostly the living room, kitchen, and dining room, or the ginormous kitchenlivinganddining rooms, as they were all continuous and overlapping. There were two bedrooms, but they were only going to use the one with the California king-sized bed and plush sheets. The other room had a dejected twin in it. 

Apparently by unpack, Steve had meant “leave everything at the front door and go”, because that’s exactly what they did. It was only 72°F outside, and while that’s pretty warm, it wasn’t hot enough to get into the water. The two walked along the beach with their shoes in their hands, while also holding hands without worry of Neil’s or anyone in Hawkins’ watchful eyes. 

“This is the first time I’ve seen the Pacific,” Steve admitted. Billy looked at him and smiled. “This is my second home,” he said, looking out into the ocean nostalgically. Steve watched him, watched the breeze in his hair, the small smile on his face, the absence of his normal worry lines. Steve pulled Billy into a soft kiss. “Mph,” Billy grunted against his lips. “What was that for?” 

“You’re beautiful,” Steve grinned, and Billy blushed. “You’re not too bad yourself,” he said. They kissed a little longer, just letting the waves hit the sand and breeze ruffle their hair. Nobody in California knew them. Nobody in California cared they were kissing on the beach. 

“You wanna get some dinner and then break in that bed?” Steve asked, kissing Billy’s cheek. “Gentlemanly,” Billy said sarcastically. They rejoined hands and walked up to the sidewalk anyways. They walked a couple blocks to a pizza place Billy used to eat at when he was younger. Steve ate up anything Billy would tell him about California and his old life because he didn’t really open up about it a lot. 

“This is it,” Billy said. Steve grabbed the door for him and they strolled inside to the chilly parlor. It smelled of fresh baked pizza and somehow the humid beach air outside. The two walked up the counter and ordered a plain 12-inch cheese for the both of them. They picked a seat close to the entrance and waited to be served. 

“This better be damn good pizza,” Steve joked. He pulled his phone out and checked to make sure none of the kids or Robin needed anything. There weren’t any notifications. “It’ll be worth it,” Billy smiled, reaching his hand across the table to squeeze Steve’s. 

“Well, well, well. Billy Hargrove,” a man’s voice sounded. A tall, dark-haired teen stood in the doorway, trailed by two of his peers. “Jacob Moore?” Billy asked as if he already knew the answer, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. This persona was so much different than how he was with Steve. It was so jarring Steve didn’t know wether to be grateful he was genuinely kind to his boyfriend or terrified of who Billy pretended to be. 

Billy stood up and shook the guy’s hand. “Jake, this is- this is my friend, Steve. Steve Harrington,” Billy said, pointing to Steve. The friend card stung a little, mostly because Billy has said he was out in California, but Steve was used to it. “Hey,” he partially waved, smiling-but-not-really. 

“Hey, man. So Billy... we don’t hear from you much,” Jacob said. Steve was picking apart the facade this guy had, or whatever he perceived to be a facade. “Yeah, sorry, it just got so busy last year with school and all. Plus, all those ladies I had to impress,” Billy laughed, tucking a short curl behind his ear. Jacob laughed along with him. “I hear ya. Listen, if you ever want to truly catch up some time, let me know. I’ll let you have your alone time,” he said, then walked off with the other guys in tow. 

Billy sat back down. His smile transformed back into the one he specifically used on Steve. Steve wasn’t amused. “What’s wrong?” Billy asked, eyebrows furrowing. Steve crossed his arms over his chest. “Friend?” he asked. Billy rolled his eyes. 

“C’mon, you know we can’t be-.” 

“I thought you said you were out here. We held hands on the beach. What the fuck was that for?” Steve asked, voice level. “I was out, but shit, Steve. Those guys were different. I’m sorry I had to protect us,” Billy said, pointing to the door. “You know what? It’s stupid. I don’t care. Let’s just pay and get out of here, alright? Let’s go.” 

Steve slammed a five dollar bill on the table as a tip and stormed out of the restaurant. The three guys’ eyes wandered back over to Billy who was sitting speechless at the booth, now all by himself. Billy gestured from him to the door and called a goodbye to his old friend as he chased after Steve.


	2. Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in chemistry, valence bond (VB) theory is one of the two basic theories, along with molecular orbital (MO) theory, that were developed to use the methods of quantum mechanics to explain chemical bonding.

The two made it back home without talking. Neither of them were mad anymore, but neither wanted to say sorry for their outbursts. 

Steve immediately went into the bathroom and started up the shower. Billy sighed and threw himself down on the couch. He set his phone on the coffee table and shoved a pillow to one end of the couch. He stretched out, closed his eyes, and fell asleep within a matter of minutes. They hadn’t slept since they left Arizona and it had been a long day at the beach. 

Steve didn’t really shower, he just let the water run as he sat on the floor thinking of what to say to Billy. He knew he overreacted, but he also knew that it hurt to be put down to that level after loving Billy for so long. He turned off the faucet and left the room. 

As he walked into the living room, Steve was met with Billy curled up with no blanket on a fairly scratchy couch. He breathed out harshly through his nose and walked over to Billy. Steve slid Billy’s phone into his pocket and leaned down to pick him up. He carried the blond bridal style into the main bedroom and gently let him go, slid his jeans off, and set his phone on the charging cord. 

Steve kicked his own jeans off and laid down underneath the heavy duvet. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Goodnight, Billy. I love you,” he whispered, rolling over to face away from him. “I love you too,” Billy replied quietly. He scooted backwards so that they were pressed against each other from their backs to their feet. 

They slept peacefully, almost as if it were a truce. Steve woke up alone the next morning. The other side of the bed was made and cold. Steve wondered if he imagined the whole trip. Sometimes he wonders how he got so lucky with his wonderful Billy and if he was ever going to wake up from this hazy dream. 

Steve didn’t worry, though, because he presumed Billy woke up early to make breakfast. At least, he didn’t worry until he picked up his phone and he had 400 notifications from the kids’ and his’ groupchat and at least 15 from Robin. There were paragraphs and paragraphs of apologies from Robin, but the kids had only sent a blurry photo of people kissing back and forth, debating if it really was Steve or not. 

Steve sat up, feeling as though cold water was splashed into the bed. He clicked on the picture, zooming in closer. The unmistakable Scoops Ahoy uniform and Billy’s hair were a dead giveaway- someone had caught them. Someone outed Steve and Billy. 

“Oh, fuck!” Steve shouted out loud. For all he knew, he was alone. He called Robin immediately, standing up and changing into just pajama pants. There was a ring and a half before she picked up. 

“Steveohmygod, howareyouimsorry-.

“Robin, Robin, what the fuck happened?” Steve demanded, cutting her off. She would’ve just kept rambling if he didn’t. “Well, remember that nobody follows me?” she asked, and immediately he remembered. He groaned, rubbing his forehead. 

“Someone got ahold of that picture on your Instagram,” he said, frustrated. “Steve, I’m sorry, what can I do to help?” she asked. He could tell she was trying not to cry. 

“First of all, I don’t want you to feel bad about this. I know you didn’t purposefully do anything. Second, I want you to try and find where it originated,” he said, trying to calm her down. “I know who sent it out to the whole school. I got the text too,” she replied. 

“Text? What text?” Steve asked. “Tommy H. sent out a group text to the whole school with the picture. Have you seen the picture?” she answered. “Yeah, the kids sent it to me. So that motherfucking son of a bitch outed Billy and me... but how did he do it?” Steve wondered aloud. 

“I can do some digging and see who sent it to him... let me call you back,” she said succinctly. She hung up without another word. Steve put his phone on the dresser and sighed. He didn’t really care about Tommy, or Carol, or anybody, because they had already screwed him over. There was no reason to care. 

Billy, however, cared immensely about their opinions because that’s who he was, that’s how he thrived. The reason he cut his hair short is because Tammy Thompson told him that it looked stupid long. Steve loved it long. 

Steve walked out into the massive kitchendiningandliving room, standing around dejectedly. “Billy?” he called out. “In here,” came a quiet voice from the second bedroom. Steve went down the hallway and tried to open the door but it was locked. He stopped and listened to quiet sobs. 

Billy never really showed his emotions to Steve. No crying, hardly any smiling, and he certainly never looked downright happy. Steve, on the other hand, cried at just about every Disney movie or cute dog. 

“Oh, bubba,” Steve said, sitting down in front of the door. “What’s a-matter?” he asked, touching the wooden barrier between them as if Billy could feel it. “That fucking picture! That’s what’s a-matter,” Billy yelled. He slid his phone under the door to Steve. 

The picture on his phone was clearer, and it was easy to tell when it was taken. It was when the kids told them to kiss. Robin had taken that one, but when Steve swiped, there was the one he had seen. It was from across the mall at Imperial, and it was extremely zoomed in so much so it was barely recognizable. 

“It’s going to ruin my fucking life.”


	3. Chapter Three: The Pollywog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It focuses on how the atomic orbitals of the dissociated atoms combine to give individual chemical bonds when a molecule is formed.

“Who sent you this?” 

Steve slid the phone back under the door to Billy. “Tommy. Didn’t you get the text? Robin’s even in it,” Billy said. “No, I didn’t get the fucking text. Maybe they think it’s Robin?” Steve suggested. 

Billy gave Steve the phone back. It was his texts, all of which were unread. Steve scrolled through what looked like the entirety of Hawkins asking if Billy was really gay or telling him he was a queer. “I don’t think you even look remotely like Buckley.” 

Steve was speechless. “I’m sorry,” he said, leaning back on the door. “It isn’t your fault,” Billy replied. “I’m still sorry,” Steve protested. There was a lull in conversation. 

“Why are you in the spare room?” Steve asked gently. “If I look at you I’ll cry,” Billy replied simply. Steve laughed. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It’s just- it’s been almost a year, bubba. You can trust me.” Billy unlocked the door and sat on the bed. 

Steve got up and walked in. Billy’s face was covered in tears. His eyes were red and irritated from crying. “Bubba,” Steve whispered, walking over and sitting on the bed. He wrapped his arms around Billy, who cried into his chest. 

“We can’t go back,” he said through tears. “What do you mean?” Steve asked. Billy sniffled. “We can’t go back there. They know now,” he said simply, as if it were obvious. Steve’s heart shattered. 

“We can’t live in fear, no matter how easy it seems,” Steve said, rubbing Billy’s arm. “That’s what they want. We can move out of Hawkins, and we can go to college, and live together, but bubba, I will never stop loving you.” Billy was crying harder.

“I love you, Steve. I want to live the rest of my life with you.” 

“If this is a marriage proposal, we don’t have nearly enough money for a wedding,” Steve joked, making Billy laugh through his tears. “You’re an idiot,” he said, wiping the streaks off his face. “I’m your idiot,” Steve smiled, pressing a small kiss to Billy’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it’s so short, school starts next week and im stressed as hell. im taking 3 ap classes for those of you who know what that is. 
> 
> still, i would love to know what you think so far and what you love about the story :). love u.


End file.
